The Wild are set to face off against the red hot Boston Bruins tonight hoping to pick up two points before returning back home.
The Minnesota Wild (12-13-4) face the Boston Bruins (19-5-5) on the road tonight at. TD Garden with two critical points on the line. The Wild are four points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand on the Arizona Coyotes who currently hold onto the last Wild Card spot in the West.
Without Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin already, the Wild will be without another key player tonight against the Bruins.
Mats Zuccarello did not play in yesterday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and will not play again tonight. The team later announced that Zuccarello is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Zuccarello, 36, has six goals and 28 points on the year in 28 games and has been playing a lot better all around game recently so it's a tough blow for the Wild who are already without two elite defensemen.
Speaking of defensemen, Daemon Hunt recorded his first NHL point last night in the loss to the Penguins and is projected to be in the lineup tonight. There won't be any lineup changes for the Wild other than Marc-Andre Fleury in goal.
Wild's projected lines
Kaprizov — Eriksson Ek — Boldy
Johansson — Rossi — Hartman
Foligno — Gaudreau — Maroon
Duhaime — Dewar — Lettieri
Defensive pairs:
Middleton — Faber
Goligoski — Bogosian
Merrill — Hunt
Projected starter: Marc-Andre Fleury
Bruins' projected lines
Brad Marchand — Pavel Zacha — David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — Jake DeBrusk
James van Riemsdyk — Morgan Geekie — Trent Frederic
Jakub Lauko — John Beecher — Oskar Steen
Defensive pairs:
Matt Grzelcyk — Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm — Brandon Carlo
Parker Wotherspoon — Kevin Shattenkirk
Projected starter: Linus Ullmark